auburn hills >> How to close games is something every young team has to learn. There is usually bumps along the way, but the Pistons took a step in the right direction by holding off a Nets’ rally for a 103-99 victory Friday night.

Detroit led by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter so the game shouldn’t have been in question late. But the win is a step in the right direction because the Pistons didn’t fold late against a veteran laden Nets team.

“It helps us figure out how to win close games, especially the way we won,” Pistons forward Josh Smith said. “A couple of plays didn’t work for us down the stretch, but we were able to put together three or four stops down the stretch. It’s just a learning experience. Being able to learn how to try close out games when we have big leads, especially the way we had throughout the whole game. Learning how to execute that much harder and not act kind of lackadaisical whenever we feel like we have the game won.”

The last few years the Pistons likely wouldn’t have finished Friday’s win. Detroit has blown plenty of leads over the last several years.

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The next step for the Pistons (11-13) is putting away teams when they have a big lead and not letting it get close. Having the killer instinct to put a team away and not rest on a lead is what makes a team special. Veteran Chauncey Billups has been on a teams with that killer instinct and is trying to instill it in the current Pistons.

“You always feel better about winning the game, but as you try to take the next steps to become better, it’s about how you win games,” Billups said. “Not just a bad call here, it’s off somebody else’s leg here, we get the ball back. You don’t go by chance. That’s basketball, but you always feel good about winning.”

The Pistons used good ball movement to build the lead, but then when the game started to get tight, they started to play too much one-on-one basketball.

“You shouldn’t change that, just play the same way,” Billups said. “Sometimes it calls for isolation, shot clock (is running down), trying to eat the clock up. Sometimes it calls for that, but not for seven, eight minutes.”

It’s easy to break down a game and look for the negatives. No team plays a flawless 48 minutes, but there is no substitute for the feeling after a close win.

The young Pistons need that feeling. It helps build confidence and camaraderie. There is a saying that winning is the best deodorant and that rung true for Detroit Friday.

“It was a big win for us,” Pistons second-year center Andre Drummond said. “I think we all played well as a collective group. We all came together down the stretch of the game and held them off when they made their run. We gotta (take) that energy and intensity we had tonight and use it on Sunday.”

The win comes at a good time for the Pistons, who face the NBA’s top two teams back-to-back. On Sunday, Detroit hosts Portland (19-4 entering Saturday night) and play at Indiana (20-3) Monday.

The Pistons will take any win they can get against the Blazers and Pacers, just like they did against the Nets. There is no style points for how you win, but if the Pistons can learn to close out games earlier it will go a long way towards making the playoffs and possibly winning a series once they get here.